Poison
by jonissy
Summary: Clove and Cato rely only on each other in the games.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - Not lots of Clato in this chapter sobs. And it's short, even more sobs. **

* * *

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1!" And then there's a loud boom. My brain shuts down and my feet take over. Before I can even comprehend what's happening, I'm racing past tributes, picking up anything I can. By the time I reach the mouth of the Cornucopia, I already have a bag strapped on over my shoulders, filled with things I'll sort out later. After I reach down a grab a few knives, I decide it's time to eliminate some of the competition.

The first one didn't even see it coming. The sleek knife instantly brings him to his feet, and I can see the blood splashing from his mouth. Once his head is well hidden by the ground, I am able to see Katniss scrambling to get up. I snicker as I flick my knife right at her. Right into the orange bag she just stole from the guy whose life I just took. "Dammit," I say as I begin to turn around. There's no time to waste. "Next time, fire girl," I mutter and race back to the bloodbath.

A small girl limps not too far off and makes it a bit too easy for me to chuck one of my weapons into her head. I jog over to her and take it out of her head and go back over to the center of all the damage. A hand rests on my shoulder and the person who owns it barely misses a knife to the heart. Once I make out who it is, I feel a pang in my chest.

"Cato! Don't scare me like that!" I shout at him.

"What would you do? _Kill_ me?" he says and he cockily snorts. "You're a quarter of my size. But hey, you are a bit feisty."

"Shut-up, Cato. Now tell me why you're wasting time talking with me when you could be getting rid of the others?"

"Kill another one then meet up by the lake. Nahla, Marvel, and Glimmer are already setting up there," Cato says, then he gives a sort of laugh. "Marvel has a good arm, but both him and Glimmer are about as sharp as cotton."

I can't help but give a little giggle. I nod and run over to the other part of the woods. Quickly, I throw a knife at a girl who is trying to climb up a tree. She has little to no skill at doing and is stopping for a rest, so she's is an easy kill. She falls from the ground, and I take my knife from her back. Before going to the lake, I rush over to the Cornucopia and browse my options. I take about 20 knives and set them up in my jacket before going over to the lake.

"I mean, I've always loved the games, and they're already so much fun to be in, but why couldn't this year's arena be a little less dirty?" I hear Glimmer asking Marvel. Cato was right, she's not too smart.

"Well, you're going to be here for a bit, unless you'd rather die right now?" I ask as I approach them. Glimmer gets a little startled and Marvel grabs his spear. Well, they're obviously going to be horrible guards, too.

"Oh, Clove. Didn't hear you come over here. Mind if we go through your bag?" Marvel asks, poking his chin behind.

"Yeah, sure." I take it off and walk in between them. Marvel is at least six feet high, but he lacks in any real weight or real muscle. Glimmer is, to put it short, busty. At least she seems to be somewhat muscular. Filling her canteen with water is Nahla, the district four tribute. She hasn't spoken to us the whole training time, minus when she asked to join our group. Honestly, I could care less if she ends up being the first one killed, but she seems stronger then both of the district one idiots.

I dump the bag out. Looking through the pile of my stuff, I see there's another knife (which I take for myself), four baggies of mixed dried fruit and nuts, a pair of sunglasses, an empty water bottle, and a rope. Marvel grabs the bottle and tosses it by Nahla. "Fill it up, will ya?" he says. She makes no sound and begins to do so.

Cato comes back and we're all here. "Tomorrow morning, we're getting all of the stuff inside that thing," he says, pointing over to the Cornucopia. "Tonight, we'll be doing a little bit of hunting. If you're like mermaid girl over here who's been hiding from all the real action, you won't be in this little alliance much longer. For now, set up camp." When no one but me moves, seeing as they're all a bit stunned with Cato's demanding tone, Cato gets real furious. "Now!"

Marvel, Glimmer, and Nahla begin to work on a tent. Whoever grabbed that is the brightest. Instead of assisting dumb, dumb, and dumber, I walk over to Cato, whose face is red.

"Lovely career pack we have this year, right?" I ask him, my voice reeking of sarcasm.

Facing me, Cato says, "At least we have you in it. I mean – you've got the strength and the wits."

I can't help but blush. "Thanks, I guess, but now's not the time for compliments. It seems like the future victors need a bit of help." Cato and I both chuckle as we walk over to the others who are clumsily fidgeting with the tent. _I cannot wait until they're gone._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – I had no way to end this gyfishlkjda. Katniss viewing scene next and some more Clato yay /owo/**

* * *

We all settle down after hearing the cannons fire when I hear Cato calling my name. He's about four feet away, leanin against the pole holding up the tent. I stop twirling my knife in-between my fingers and give him all of my attention. With his sword, he points over to where a boy, who is a bit smaller than Cato, is doing what seems to be picking fruit from a bush.

"Bet ya they're poisonous," I say, concentrating at the tribute. He looks familiar, but he doesn't make me feel too well about him.

"Well," Cato begins, "he won't need those to kill him."

On cue, Cato and I get up from our spots underneath the green fabric. Before we can even make way towards the boy, he turns around. His face is getting clearer to recognize as he jogs towards us. When he's about a yard away, it finally clicks. "Lover-boy?" I look at Cato who seems to be figuring this out, too. Cato is just about to rush over to Peeta head when I stop him. "Wait – don't kill him, yet. He may know where fire girl is," I whisper right as Peeta comes face-to-face with us. Both Cato and I think of this sappy-romance stuff as ridiculous, but the real threat is that Katniss. She actually seems useful, where as Peeta… He can always be a part of a soap opera.

"Don't kill!" he shouts, waving his arms up. Glimmer, Marvel, and Nahla take note of him and come by us. All five of us are surrounding Peeta who is trying his best, what it seems like, not to show how scared he is. "District two, I've heard you talking. You want Katniss?" Cato and I look at each other and we both nod. "Well then, I know where to find her. But I want immunity."

Ah, so, he's offering us a trade? This is one I don't need to wait for anyone else to accept. "Deal. You stay with us as long as you lead us to her. And you'll also listen to us, or else the deal is off."

"Eager to kill her?" Marvel asks me. I nod. She beat my score, which I was pretty damn proud of until hers came up. She also stole the attention away from me. Beautiful Katniss, lighting herself on fire and looking radiant. Poor Katniss, in love but can't be. Strong Katniss, scoring an 11. What is everyone saying about me? Clove, she has knives. Yeah, like that'll stick.

Peeta smiles and moves in-between and then past Cato, towards the pile of supplies. "Alright, so, we have a deal. May we go hunting, now?" he asks, rocking back and forth while we all face him.

"Whatever. Grab a weapon and we can go," Cato says, obviously irked. "Follow Peeta. Peeta, if you're misleading us, expect a sword in your throat." Everyone follows after Peeta into the woods. Cato and I, however, stop to grab a few flashlights and a torch.

"You're pissed," I say, putting a flashlight in my jacket, right by one of my knives.

"What ever happened to that 'love' shit that was going on during the prep for this, hm? I don't like having him in our group. I don't trust him and would rather him dead."

"When we find Katniss, we'll kill him."

Cato nods and we begin into the woods.

After walking for about a while, we have actually gotten lots of food and water. Glimmer stores the game in a sack she got and Nahla stores the water in one of her many canteens, purifying it as we continue on. Cato and I are trailing behind, looking out for any suspicious sights. None yet, but you never know.

It's gotten dark , and before I can offer everyone a flashlight, the anthem plays. "Stop, guys," I order, and everyone does. Each of us takes a tree and attempt to climb up it. These are shorter and easier to climb. Cato and I climb the same one and rest on a branch. The Capitol seal shows, then all goes dark. Not long later, the dead reappear. At first, I'm proud and poking Cato when the two I killed show up. Then I'm nauseous. I was raised to do this, but it's hard to get over the fact that their family hates me right now. My family may be cheering me on, but if someone kills me, the thought of their reaction pains me.

"You okay?" Cato asks as the night goes black. I didn't even notice it, but my eyes are getting watery.

"Yeah, I just have bad vision when it's this dark. If that makes sense to you. Here-" I say, taking two of those sunglasses out of my pocket and handing one to Cato. "Better vision at night, or at least that's what my dad says."

I put them on and the night lights up. Everything is so clear like this, and I notice Cato is smiling at it. "Good grab," he says, patting me on the back. I smile, too, and am about to get down from the tree when we both see a small light. A fire. "Looks like district one isn't the only idiot-filled district."

And with that, the both of us are down and motioning for everyone else to follow. I give everyone else a flashlight, Cato the torch, and we go.


End file.
